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Alexandra was right about it being less unpleasant putting the merge together this time and Daniel was aware that she was somehow buffering him from Carrie, just in case she tried something again.

Thank you, he said and felt Alexandra smile.

Not a problem. Now let’s locate those poor kids.

Once again there was swooping sensation and they were in what appeared to be an unholy cross between a prison and a lab. People in lab coats walked between brightly lit glass cells where unconscious teenagers lay wired up to monitors and drips. As they watched, one of the monitors sounded a shrill alarm as one of the teens stirred. One of the technicians immediately rushed to her cell and administered an injection before she could wake fully, sending her back down into oblivion.

Not all this equipment is medical, Alex, one of the other clairvoyants said. I’m not sure what it’s for.

Yes, we should– Alexandra broke of as Carrie gave a startled cry. Her shock sent such a ripple through the merge it nearly fell apart again but somehow they held together this time.

Look! Carrie drew their attention to another cell. The girl who had burned down her entire suburb was lying on the bed – but that wasn’t what had caught her attention. Rather, it was the technician seated in the otherwise empty cell next to her. He was wearing a strange golden net device on his head which was linked to a computer, matching a similar net on the girl’s head. He was also balancing a small flame above his palm. He’s not even an ember. How the hell is he doing that?

It looks like he’s using her powers somehow, Alexandra said. How is that even possible? That’s a heck of an invention and not something they could come up with in a few days. On the upside, it’s still fairly bulky so not much actual use in the field yet. On the downside, it means they might be able to attack our rescue team.

But it makes sending a rescue team tonight all the more important. Carrie sounded upset. Those are kids, not batteries. How dare they use them as batteries? She gave a sudden hiss. This is why they are so determined to attack us – they want us or at the very least our kids for these experiments.

I think so, Alexandra said. Even if we don’t stop them, they are going to be mightily disappointed on that score thanks to Caroline. And I think we’d best warn Matthias’s new allies as well. They’ll probably go after them as well if they suspect. For now let’s check how our team is getting in and out tonight. On something like this I suspect security is intense.

***

By the time they went back to the main room, Daniel was exhausted and they had a map of the facility and a good grasp of the security.

“Is Caroline back yet?” Alexandra asked. “We could really do with her input. The situation they are keeping those kids in is far more serious than we realised.” She shot the entire room a mental image of what they had seen then waited for the swearing to subside.

“Well that’s worrying,” Matthias said. “Fortunately it’s a purely human made device – it’s not refined enough to be draconic or Kithreian – but they must have a fully fledged Astral working with them to design such a thing. And a well-trained one at that.” He tapped his finger against his teeth thoughtfully. “But how… Ah, yes, I think I see how you’d do that. Dangerous to the user as well if I’m right.”

“It’s not too different in principal to how those collars work,” Naria said. “And even closer to how Likadrian’s device worked. But his devices were a lot more advanced.”

“So how did…” Alexandra trailed off and scowled. “I know we don’t have more traitors.”

“Most likely a Wild, probably one who was sponsored to Brierthorne to have the right skills,” Matthias said. “A good number do decide to cut their own path after all.”

“Or one of Emms’ technicians who escaped his brainwashing,” Daniel said. “They helped build that thing of his.”

“Possible, but I doubt that,” Matthias said. “But we do have to launch our rescue tonight. It’ll deflect suspicion from us. Let’s wait for the other group of clairvoyants to get back and make a plan of attack.”

 

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